Selvage trimming and waste removal means



July 15, 1969 R. B. GOLOBART SELVAGE TRIMMING AND WASTE REMOVAL MEANSFiled July 7, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. RAMON BALAGUER GOLOBARTJuly 15, 1969 R. B. GOLOBART 3,455,342

SELVAGE TRIMMING AND WASTE REMOVAL MEANS Filed July 7, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VENTOR. RAMON BALAGUER GOLOBART United States Patent3,455,342 SELVAGE TRIMMING AND WASTE REMOVAL MEANS Ramon BalaguerGolobart, Calle Caspe 86, Barcelona, Spain Filed July 7, 1967, Ser. No.651,857 Claims priority, application Spain, Aug. 26, 1966, 331,065 Int.Cl. D03d 49/70 US. Cl. 139-302 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREDevice for fastening and cutting the weft thread in shuttleless loomsand removing the cut surplus thereof, having a pair of members forgripping the weft thread, a knife member for cutting the end of thethread and a pipe for sucking away the cut-off end, the whole constitut-1ng a unit in which the different operations are carried outautomatically in complete synchronism with the movements of the loom.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for cutting the weftthread by gripping it, positioning it for cutting and sucking away ofthe cut surplus thread, which are applicable to shuttleless looms havingweft inserters of the gripper type, for mounting at the edge ofthefabric, and which comprise a member for clamping the weft thread, amember 'for cutting the surplus of the latter and a pipe for suckingaway the cut-off end.

In shuttleless looms, in which an arm, weft carrying rod or flexibleband, which supports a gripping member, catches and draws the weftthread coming from a stationary bobbin in order to transfer it throughthe shed to the side opposite to the feeding side of the weft, or inthose looms having gripping shuttles, it is mandatory that the weftthread to be cut in order to make uniform the ends of the fabricselvage, and that the surplus or free ends are removed.

In the known systems, the operations of cutting the weft thread,fastening the end of the latter so as to keep it under tension while itis cut, and removal of the surplus or cut-01f ends of the weft threads,are effected successively and separately, which can cause a lack ofsynchronism in the same, bringing about defects in the fabric orupsetting the satisfactory working of the machine.

This invention is an improvement which excludes completely the risk thatthe previous systems ran of losing the necessary synchronism in thedifferent operations, since all these operations are producedautomatically and in unison, excluding therefore the risk or failures inthe operations mentioned.

Essentially the improvements are characterised in that the clampingmember of the weft thread is constituted by two gripper jaws, a lowerone and an upper one, having respective tubular sections and articulatedconjointly with these sections on a stationary support in such a waythat they can effect an oscillatory movement so that when said jawsopen, the said two tubular sections also open, and that when said jawsclose, to catch the weft thread, the said tubular sections also closeforming a complete tubular unit with a tubular extension associated withone of said sections and connected to the suction pipe, one of said jawsbeing controlled, with the members associated with it, by means ofmechanical members in dependence on the movements of the loom, while theother of said jaws is subjected to the action of a spring which, actingin the closure direction of the same, tends to keep it applied against astationary check member, and the said upper and lower jaws beingarranged in such a position in respect of a rotary cutting member andthe said ice stationary check member that, when said jaws are situatedin the closed position, clamping the weft thread between them, they canbe rotated conjointly against the action of the said spring which actson the upper jaw, so as to bring said weft thread within reach of thecutting memher, and that during its rotation in reverse direction theyare kept closed, clamping the cut-off surplus of weft thread, until saidupper jaw is again applied against the said stationary check member,there then being effected the release of the cut-off surplus to besucked away by the suction pipe.

Preferably, and in accordance with another characteristic of theimprovements in question, the stationary support carrying the jaws andmembers associated with them, is constituted by a basic component firmlyattached to a stationary member of the loom by means of an elementadjustable in the transverse direction of the latter, an intermediatecomponent, joined to said basic component through a substantiallyhorizontal slideway, and an upper component, which constitutes thesupport proper of said whole, joined to said intermediate componentthrough a substantially vertical slideway, said adjustable element andthe said horizontal and vertical slideways being adapted to adjust theposition of the said whole in relation to the line of formation of thefabric, both in horizontal and vertical directions.

Finally another feature consists in that the mechanical control membersof the jaws for fastening the weft thread comprise a cam integral with arotating shaft of the loom.

With the improvements forming the subject matter of the invention thereis obtained an exact cutting of the ends of the weft threads on accountof the tension produced in this weft thread by means of the gripperjaws, eliminating subsequent manipulations.

For the better understanding of the invention, it will be described inmore detail in what follows with relation to the accompanying drawings,which show non-restrictively by way of example, a preferred form ofembodiment.

In these drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the device applied to a fixed shaft ofthe loom;

FIGURE 2 is a rear view of the fastening and sucking elements;

FIGURE 3 shows the device with the jaws open waiting for the weft threadto be gripped and in the downward position;

FIGURE 4 shows the device with the jaws closed gripping the weft threadand in the half-raised position;

FIGURE 5 shows the device with the jaws closed gripping the weft threadand in the fully raised position and positioning for cutting; and

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a part of the loom to which the deviceis applied, combined with a cutting element.

In these figures 1 denotes a fixed shaft comprising a portion of theframe of the m, to which there is firmly applied, by means of the bolt 2and the sleeves 3, the basic support 4 for the device at the upper end 5of Which there is a substantially horizontal slideway 6, to which thereis fixed, in an adjustable manner, an intermediate support 7 having aprojecting portion movable in the slideway and attached by means of thebolt 8. Said intermediate support 7 carries another, substantiallyvertical slideway 9, to which there is fixed, also adjustably, an uppersupport 10 having a projecting portion movable in slideway 9 andattached by means of the bolt 11, all these supports forming, onceadjusted, at single, general support.

The entirety of the fastening and sucking elements is pivotally attachedon a horizontal axis to the upper support 10, these elements comprising:a lower jaw 12 joined with an upwardly facing hemi-cylindrical section13, an upper jaw 14 joined with a downwardly facing hemicylindricalsection 15 which complements the section 13, a tubular extension 16 ofsaid half section 13 and a suction pipe 17 connected to the tubularextension 16, the extensions 13 and 15 being pivotally mounted like jawson a shaft 18 of the upper support 10, by means of a lower arm 19 forthe lower tubular section 13 and by an upper arm 20 for the uppertubular section 15.

The upper jaw 14 attached to the upper tubular section 15 is in apractically horizontal position, subjected to the constant downwardpressure of the lug 21 of the helical spring 22, FIGURE 1, whichsurrounds the support shaft 18, the other end of the spring (not shown)being attached to a ring 23 mounted on shaft 18 which adjusts thepressure of the spring 22 and is fastened by a set screw 24. A bolt 25,with lock unit 26, applied to a projection 27 of the upper support 10,acts as a check member to limit downward rotation of the arm 20 of theupper tubular section 15 (FIGURE 2).

The basic support 4 has a lower end 28, at which there is pivotallyconnected, by means of a shaft 29, a swivelling plate 30 of triangularshape which at its lower vertex 31 has a roller 32, which receives theupward and downward movement of a cam 33 applied by a fixing bolt 34 toa rotating shaft 35 of the loom. At the vertex 36 of thetriangular-shaped plate 30 there is applied a conpler 37 through whichpasses a connecting rod 38 fastened by the screw 39 and the upper end 40of which is connected to the lower arm 19 of the lower tubular section13 supporting the movable loWer jaw 12.

In order to maintain the roller 32 in contact with the cam 33, there isconnected to the vertex 41 of the triangular shaped plate 30 the end 42of a helical spring 43 through a stud bolt 44 screwed into the retainer45, in order to regulate the tension, the other end 46 of this helicalspring 43 being fixed to a fixed point 47 of the basic support 4.

FIGURE 6 shows the jaws 12 and 14 of the device gripping the end 55 ofthe weft thread 48 arranged so that it can be beaten up by the reed 49of the slay 50 and be cut by the disc or circular knife 51, only twowarp threads 52 and 53 having been shown for clarity in the drawing, butit is to be understood that the remaining warps correspond to thecontinuity of the fabric 54 shown only partly.

The mode of operation of the device described is as follows:

During the formation of the fabric 54, the weft thread 48 inserted inthe shed, before being beaten up by the reed 49 of the slay 50, has itsloose end drawn, by suction from the tubular extension 16 and the twotubular half sections 13 and 15, between the two open jaws 12 and 14,FIGURES 1 and 3. On account of the continuity of the rotation of the cam33, it pushes the roller 32 and the vertex 36 of the triangular shapedplate 30 upwardly, closing the lower jaw 12 with the upper one 14 andcatching with it the end 55 of the weft thread 48, FIG- URES 4 and 6.The cam 33 continues to rotate and due to its protuberance 56 causes thecontinuation of the elevation of the roller 32 of the triangular shapedplate 30, and therefore, of the lower jaw 12, which, without ceasing togrip the end 55 of the weft thread 48 between the two jaws, 14 and 12,by the constant pressure of the spring 22, also causes the elevation ofthe upper jaw 14, FIGURE 5, with which the end 55 of the weft thread 48is brought within reach of the cutting edge of the rotary knife 51,FIGURE 6, so as to be cut. When this operation has been carried out, thecam 33 continues to rotate in a clockwise direction, causing in thefirst place the jaws 12 and 14 to descend, closed, and on continuing thedescent, by retention of the upper jaw 14 by the check bolt 25, theopening of these jaws 12 and 14 takes place, the cut- 011 end 55 of theweft thread 48 being freed from the pressure of the jaws 12 and 14 andsucked immediately through the tubular extension 16 of the suction pipe17 and thus successively, with each passage of the weft thread, there isrepeated the cycle of fastening and positioning for cutting the weftthread and of sucking the cut-off end of the latter.

The constructional details and features employed are independent of thesubject matter of the invention in its application in practice, allbeing comprised within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. Device for a loom for gripping and removing surplus ends of weftthreads inserted in sheds during formation of a fabric, comprising aloom frame, a cutting knife mounted on the loom frame at one edge of thefabric being woven, upper and lower gripper jaws, means for mountingsaid jaws adjacent said knife for independent pivotal movement towardand away from each other and for conjoint movement together when closedto grip a weft end, one of said jaws including a semi-cylindricalsection of an end of a tubular suction conduit, the other of said jawsincluding a complementary semi-cylindrical section of said conduit foroperative engagement with said first-mentioned section to complete theend of said suction conduit when the jaws are closed, means for urgingone of said jaws in one direction towards gripping engagement with theother jaw, means for limiting the extent of movement of said one jaw insaid one direction, biassing means for urging the other jaw away fromgripping engagement with said one jaw, actuating means for connectionwith a rotating member of the loom for moving said other jaw toward theone jaw for gripping a weft end, for further moving the other jaw in thesame directin conjointly with the one jaw for bringing the weft end intoengagement with the knife to be cut, and for moving the other jaw in thereverse direction to release the cut weft thread into the suctionconduit.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said means for mounting thejaws comprises a first support member fixedly attached to the frame of aloom, and second and third support members connected respectively toeach other and to the first support member, first means for adjustablyvarying the relative positions of the first and second support membersalong a first line in a vertical plane, and second means for adjustablyvarying the relative positions of the second and third support membersalong a second line in a vertical plane but at right angles to the firstline.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said actuating means formoving said other jaw includes rotary cam means attached to a rotatingmember of a loom, and follower means connected with the other jaw andcoacting with the cam means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,258,038 6/1966 Ancet et al139-302 3,269,426 8/1966 Llado l39-122 3,276,483 10/ 1966 Golobart139-122 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,468,156 12/1966 France.

HENRY S. JAUDON, Primary Examiner

